Paint has brush with death

Following an outcry from fans on Monday, Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) said the app will soon land in the Windows Store for free.

"In the future, we will offer MS Paint in the Windows Store also for free, and continue to provide new updates and experiences to Paint 3D so people have the best creative tools all in one place," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNN Tech late Monday night.

The program was released in 1985 with the first version of Windows 1.0. It has been installed with every version of Windows since.

Microsoft said in a blog post it saw an "incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint" on Monday and that the program is "here to stay."

As of last year, the app still had over 100 million monthly users.

While Paint will be available for download from the Windows Store, that's not the same as being a core part of Windows. This could be problematic for employees using work computers, who may not have administrative privileges to install apps like Paint from the Windows Store.

Moving forward, Paint 3D will come installed on current and future versions of Windows. Microsoft unveiled the spinoff drawing app last October and says it has integrated many of MS Paint's main functions into the program.